Rose named for Marylou Whitney

Published 12:00 am, Thursday, November 18, 2010

Here's what the Marylou Whitney Rose, named after the Saratoga Springs philanthropist, looks like. (Courtesy John Hendrickson)

Here's what the Marylou Whitney Rose, named after the Saratoga Springs philanthropist, looks like. (Courtesy John Hendrickson)

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Marylou Whitn is shown in July at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Marylou Whitn is shown in July at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Rose named for Marylou Whitney

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SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Marylou Whitney has joined the list of celebrities and former presidents who have rose varieties named in their honor.

Whitney's husband, John Hendrickson, bought the naming rights to a fragrant, pink, long-stemmed tea rose created in Vancouver for her upcoming 85th birthday in December.

Over the years, Hendrickson bought his wife jewelry for her birthday, even once bidding on jewels worn by Eva Peron. Pursuing naming rights for a rose was a suggestion by Jane Wait, a family friend and founder of the Yaddo Garden Club.

Whitney said she knew about rose-naming for years, and used to dream about developing her own roses when she grew the flowers herself, but never told Hendrickson she wanted a rose named for her.

"I love having the smell of roses near me. I put rosewater in the bathtub so I can smell like a rose and now I am one!" Whitney said.

"When we were first dating, I brought her roses every day," Hendrickson said. "I wanted to do something timeless that not only she would enjoy but others could enjoy as well. Pink roses especially remind me of Marylou and this one is classic and beautiful, like my beautiful wife."

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Hendrickson said he admired the tradition Whitney followed with her late husband, C.V. "Sonny" Whitney. They gave money to one another that would benefit others -- air conditioning in the Canfield Casino, for example, or money to support the 1980 Olympics. Hendrickson said his wife's presents to him are usually anonymous monetary gifts to support a charity he favors.

The flower that will be known as the Marylou Whitney Rose has been under development for 10 years at Select Roses in Vancouver. It was bred by gardener Brad Jalbert. According to the Select Roses website, the breeding process starts with 3,000 to 5,000 seedlings. About 100 make it to a second year of testing, a crop further reduced to a handful of plants as Jalbert searches for a unique rose.

Hendrickson would not say what he paid for the naming rights, but Select Roses' website shows a range from $4,000 to $7,500 for the as-yet-unnamed roses Jalbert has available. The first crop of Marylou Whitney roses will be grown at the couple's Saratoga Springs estate next spring. "We have four rose gardens at Cady Hill, now we will have five," Hendrickson said. They will be available to the public in the fall of 2011. In Saratoga Springs, Dehn's Flowers on Beekman Street will carry the Marylou Whitney Rose.

Leigh Hornbeck can be reached at 454-5352 or by e-mail at lhornbeck@timesunion.com.